REVIEWS

“The best business book of 2017 on leadership…. This wonderfully written and wildly entertaining study of the most winning sports teams in history has more to say about leadership, engagement, and the chemistry that sparks and sustains extraordinary achievement than a decade’s worth of leadership books.”

“The book I most enjoyed reading this year…. A fascinating book for sports fans, full of insider stories on top teams and the sources of their success. But it also offers leadership insights applicable outside of sports.”

“It seems that Walker discovered fundamental truths about team dynamics, whether in pro sports teams or corporations: Strong leadership from the top is crucial, but only works when there’s a talented leader on the field.”

“I can’t tell you how much I loved The Captain Class. It identifies something many people who’ve been around successful teams have felt but were never able to articulate. It has impacted my thoughts around how we build our culture.”

“Combining statistics with epic stories from the playing field, Walker compellingly makes his case that captains possessing traits not usually assumed as shared among leaders are what make empires. A fascinating sports study with much wider-reaching application, featuring page-turning tales of personal triumph and cogent analysis.”

KIRKUS (starred review)

“A remarkable book, one that articulates much of what you feel about great teams but have perhaps been afraid to express…. Sam Walker has done a terrific job. His book is well worth reading.”

“One of the five best nonfiction books for May, 2017… With a comically exacting rigor, Sam Walker, an editor at the Wall Street Journal, uncovers the “hidden force” powering history’s greatest sports teams: the characters of the people leading them. Walker’s book is both a compelling sports argument-starter and an easy-to-swallow guide to effective leadership, suited to barstool and boardroom alike. The portraits of leaders across the athletic-spectrum are warm and dishy. Together, they form an affectionate paean to the figure of the under-appreciated captain.”

“The Captain Class offers a tremendous insight into the world of elite-level captains, their roles, influences and foibles. And this isn’t any old insight. Walker is a highly skilled prose craftsman and is clearly dedicated to this research project. What makes this book so good — and in fact what validates it — is that Walker’s arguments stand up. This isn’t pub chat. Evidence is everything here and Walker draws on academic research from a whole gamut of influences. Walker has created a genuinely fascinating study of why captains are so influential in successful teams.”

“The premise alone is intriguing: The former sports editor of the Wall Street Journal, now a deputy page one editor, spent years coming up with a list of the 16 most dominant teams in sports, and then looked for what they had in common. His answer? Each team had what the book’s summary calls a ‘captain’ — ‘a singular leader who drove it to sustained, historic periods of greatness.’ Sam Walker then studied the seven attributes those leaders exhibited, such as doggedness or nonverbal communication skills, that aren’t always heralded as the most important leadership traits.”

“When we think about the athletes who make their teams great, we tend to think about high-scoring hotshots. But in his new book The Captain Class, Sam Walker argues that while star players help, the true hallmark of a top-tier team is a captain who works hard behind the scenes.”

“Walker studied 1,200 teams across 37 sports and, amid numerous books about the makings of individual sporting brilliance, his search for those intangibles of team success feels genuinely new. The case he makes for the captain is also persuasive.”

DAILY TELEGRAPH (UK)

“The book doubles as a guide to success in business, with pointed commentary on what makes leaders effective or ineffective.”

“Written for serious sports fans in lively language that also speaks to aspiring athletes and business professionals, this book offers a compelling argument for the value of inspired leadership.”

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY

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“Well-researched, wildly entertaining, and thought-provoking.

In The Captain Class, Sam Walker presents compelling narratives about the secret ingredient to the greatest teams of all time – and quickly has the reader reexamining long-held beliefs about leadership and the glue that binds winning teams together.”